Mobile healthcare device and method of operating the same

ABSTRACT

A mobile healthcare device and method of operating the same are provided. The method includes setting a mode of the mobile healthcare device to a measurement mode, displaying a screen for guiding a user to maintain a predetermined position during the measurement mode, and, in response to a predetermined amount of time passing from a time at which the screen begins to be displayed, obtaining state information of the user based on bio information of the user, the bio information being received from a sensor.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No.10-2014-0144288, filed on Oct. 23, 2014 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate toa healthcare device configured to measure bio information and a methodof operating the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

With the developments in medical science and the increase in lifeexpectancy of people, interest in health care and medical devices hasrapidly increased. Accordingly, an amount of various medical devices foruse in hospitals, inspection agencies, medical offices, and the like,has grown. For example, medium-sized medical devices such as thoseinstalled in government agencies, small-sized medical devices, personalmobile healthcare devices, and the like, have been proposed.

Because the size of the healthcare devices has been reduced, it iseasier for a user to carry or wear them. However, user's bio informationcan typically only be properly acquired using such devices when the usermaintains a certain position according to types of bio information to beacquired.

SUMMARY

One or more exemplary embodiments provide a mobile healthcare deviceconfigured to display a dynamic screen to inform a user to maintain acertain posture when bio information is acquired, and a method ofoperating the mobile healthcare device.

According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided amethod of operating a mobile healthcare device, the method includingsetting a mode of the mobile healthcare device to a measurement mode;displaying a screen for guiding a user to maintain a predeterminedposition during the measurement mode, and, in response to apredetermined amount of time passing from a time at which the screenbegins to be displayed, obtaining state information of the user based onbio information of the user, the bio information being received from asensor.

The predetermined position of the user may indicate a contact state ofthe sensor at a predetermined area of the user.

The screen may be displayed in response to a position of the user beingthe predetermined position.

The position of the user may be determined using an impedance outputfrom the sensor.

The predetermined amount of time may range from about two seconds toabout ten seconds.

The obtaining may be performed after the displaying is terminated.

The obtaining may be performed during the displaying.

The screen may display numbers that change according to time.

The numbers may sequentially and continuously change in an ascendingorder or descending order.

The method may further include storing user information including atleast one of a height, a gender, and a weight of the user.

The method may further include matching the state information with theuser information and storing the state information and the userinformation, in response to the measurement mode being a user mode.

The method may further include discarding the state information and theuser information in response to the measurement mode being a guest mode.

The state information and the user information may be discarded inresponse to the measurement mode being terminated.

The bio information may include a body impedance, and the stateinformation may include a bio composition of the user.

The body composition may include at least one of body fat, a skeletalmuscle mass, a muscle mass, a degree of obesity, a muscle strength, anedema value, a body composition ratio, and an amount of intra-abdominalfat.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a mobile healthcare device including a sensor configured todetect bio information of a user; a display configured to display ascreen for guiding the user to maintain a predetermined position, and aprocessor configured to obtain state information of the user based onthe bio information received from the sensor in response to apredetermined amount of time passing from a time at which the screenbegins to be displayed.

The predetermined position of the user may indicate a contact state ofthe sensor at a predetermined area of the user.

The screen may be displayed in response to a position of the user beingthe predetermined position.

The screen may display numbers that change according to time.

The bio information may include a body impedance of the user, and thestate information may include a body composition of the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readilyappreciated from the following description of exemplary embodiments,taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile healthcare device according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views of a mobile healthcare device formeasuring body impedance, according to exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 3 shows an example of a position for measuring body impedance usingthe mobile healthcare device, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a graph showing an impedance change caused by a user contact,according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method of operating the mobile healthcaredevice that is configured to display a dynamic screen, according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a reference view of a dynamic screen, according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method of operating the mobile health-caredevice that is configured to display a dynamic screen, according toanother exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are reference views of guidance screens according toexemplary embodiments;

FIG. 9 is a reference view of a measurement screen according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a method of managing user information andstate information in a user mode, according to an exemplary embodiment;and

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a method of managing user information andstate information in a guest mode, according to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The terms used in this specification may be general terms that arewidely used in the art in consideration of the functions regarding theinventive concept, but the terms may vary according to the intention ofthose of ordinary skill in the art, precedents, new technology in theart, and the like. Also, specified terms may be selected by theapplicant, and the detailed meaning thereof will be described in thedetailed description of the inventive concept. Thus, the terms used inthe specification may be understood not as simple names but based on themeaning of the terms and the overall description of the invention.

Throughout the specification, when a region is referred to as beingconnected to another region, the region may be directly connected to theother region or one or more intervening layers may exist therebetween.Also, when a portion includes an element, another element may be furtherincluded, rather than excluding the existence of the other element,unless otherwise described. Also, terms such as “. . . unit”, “. . .module”, and the like, may be units for processing at least one functionor operation and may be implemented as hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software.

In the present specification, it is understood that terms such as“including”, “having”, and “comprising” are intended to indicate theexistence of the features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts,or combinations thereof disclosed in the specification, and they are notintended to preclude the possibility that one or more other features,numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof mayexist or may be added.

The inventive concept is more fully described herein with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of theinvention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as being limited to theembodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and willfully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art.

According to various embodiments, a mobile healthcare device orapparatus may refer to a portable type or a wearable type. For example,the mobile healthcare device may be of a watch type, a bracelet type, aring type, a hair band type, and the like, and may have communicationand data processing functions. In one or more exemplary embodiments ofthe inventive concept, the mobile healthcare device is a watch-typedevice or a wristband-type device, but is not limited thereto.

Also, the mobile healthcare device may have a housing or a plurality ofhousings. For example, in the case of the mobile healthcare devicehaving a plurality of housings, a plurality of components may berespectively connected to the plurality of housings in a wired orwireless manner. For example, the components may be arranged into afirst device which includes a sensor disposed on a wrist, etc. of theuser and which detects bio information, and a second device whichprocesses the detected bio information. The mobile healthcare device maybe included in another device, for example, a mobile terminal, whichperforms other functions. The mobile terminal may include a mobilephone, a tablet, a computer, an appliance, a game console, and the like.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile healthcare device 100, accordingto an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile health-care device 100includes a sensor 110 which detects bio information of a user, aprocessor 120 which obtains state information based on the bioinformation received from the sensor 110, a display 130 which displaysthe obtained state information, a memory 140 which stores a program, andthe like, which may be used by the mobile healthcare device 100, a userinterface 150 which receives a user command, and the like, and acontroller 160 which controls components in the mobile health caredevice 100.

The user is a target from whose bio information is to be detected. Theuser may be a person or an animal or some portions of a person or ananimal. The bio information represents distinctive signals generated bythe user, for example, signals obtained from an electrocardiogram (ECG),a ballistocardiogram (BCG), a photoplethysmograph (PPG), anelectromyogram, or movements of a certain part (for example, the heart,muscle, etc.) of the user, or may be information representing the bloodsugar level, cholesterol, body impedance, and the like. The stateinformation may indicate a health state of the user and is obtainedusing the bio information. For example, the state information may be themaximum blood pressure, minimum blood pressure, and the like, and may beobtained using the bio information such as the ECG, PPG, and the like.In addition, the state information indicating body composition may beobtained using bio information indicating the body impedance.

The sensor 110 may detect the bio information of the user. The sensor110 may be disposed on, for example, on the wrist, chest, and/or ankleof the user. The sensor 110 may detect the bio information through anon-invasive method. For example, the sensor 110 may include a pluralityof electrodes in which at least some of the electrodes may contact theuser while the user wears the mobile healthcare device 100. Thus, thesensor 110 may detect the bio information by detecting electricalsignals that vary with a change of the bio information, for example, achange of the body impedance. As another example, the sensor 110 maydetect the bio information using reflected signals by irradiating lighton the user or by using magnetic signals, pressure, or the like.

The processor 120 may obtain state information using the bioinformation. The processor 120 may convert the state information intoimages, texts, audio, and the like. The processor 120 may be a singlemicro processor module or a combination of two or more micro processormodules, however, the processor 120 is not limited thereto. Hereinafter,measuring the bio information may refer to the sensor 110 that detectsthe bio information, and the processor 120 that uses the detected bioinformation in order to obtain the state information.

The processor 120 may use various methods for obtaining the stateinformation according to the types of the bio information. For example,when the bio information is the body impedance, the processor 120 mayuse the bio impedance and obtain the body composition of the user. Thebody composition may include body fat, characteristics of skin (forexample, moisture of the body), muscle strength, an edema value,skeletal muscle mass, muscle mass, a degree of obesity, a bodycomposition ratio, an amount of intra-abdominal fat, and the like, ofthe user. As another example, the processor 120 may obtain the bodycomposition using the body impedance as well as user information. Theuser information may refer to an age, weight, height, gender, etc. ofthe user.

As another example, when the bio information is ECG signals according toa heart's activity, the processor 120 may obtain the state informationfrom the bio information, which is in a wave form, and blood pressure ofthe user may be analyzed using the wave form of the bio information. Thewave form of the bio information may be a function according to time.When the wave form of the bio information is obtained, the processor 120may amplify the ECG signals and may filter the amplified ECG signalsusing a FirBandpass filter. Here, peaks may be detected from thefiltered ECG signals, and the wave form of the bio information may beobtained by adaptively filtering the detected peaks.

The display 130 may output the bio information after the ECG signals orother user information has been processed. The display 130 may display auser interface (UI), a graphic UI (GUI), and the like, for displayingthe state information, a use protocol of the mobile healthcare device100, and the like. The display 130 may include at least one of a liquidcrystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display, anorganic light-emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display, and athree-dimensional (3D) display. In some examples there may be two ormore displays 130 according to the type of the mobile health care device100.

The display 130 and a touch pad for receiving a user input may have aninterlayer structure and may form a touch screen. In this example, thedisplay 130 may be used as an input device and an output device.

The memory 140 may store data generated while the mobile healthcaredevice 100 operates. For example, the memory 140 may be a storage mediumsuch as a hard disk drive (HDD), read only memory (ROM), random accessmemory (RAM), flash memory, a memory card, and the like.

The user interface 150 may receive an input for manipulating the mobilehealth-care device 100 from the user and may output bio informationprocessed by the user interface 150. For example, the user interface 150may include a button, a key pad, a switch, a dial, a touch interface, acamera, for manipulating the mobile healthcare device 100. The userinterface 150 may include the display 130 for displaying an image andmay be implemented as a touch screen.

The controller 160 may control overall operations of the mobilehealthcare device 100. For example, the controller 160 may control thesensor 110 to detect the bio information. Also, the controller 160 maydetermine whether the detected bio information is normal or abnormal andmay provide the user with a determination result through the display130.

In an example in which the controller 160 requires the user or the userotherwise attempts to maintain a certain position in order to measurethe bio information, the controller 160 may control the display 130 todisplay a guidance screen or dynamic screen to assist the user inmaintaining the certain or predetermined position.

For example, when the mobile healthcare device 100 is a device formeasuring the body impedance, the sensor 110 may include one or moreelectrodes to provide electrical signals to the user and receive theelectrical signals from the user. When the body impedance is measured,the one or more electrodes may contact the user.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show perspective views of the mobile health-care device100 when the body impedance is measured according to exemplaryembodiments, and FIG. 3 shows an example of a position for measuring thebody impedance using the mobile healthcare device 100, according to anexemplary embodiment. Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the mobilehealthcare device 100 includes a main body (MB) and straps ST that forma watch or other wearable device. There are two straps ST at both sidesof the main body MB, and the user may wear the mobile health care device100 after the straps ST are connected to each other. The processor 120,the display 130, the memory 140, the user interface 150, and thecontroller 160 from among components of the mobile health care device100 shown in FIG. 1 may be arranged in the main body MB. The main bodyMB may further include a watch module so that the mobile healthcaredevice 100 may also be used as a watch.

Some of the components of the sensor 110 may be arranged in the strapsST. For example, when the sensor 110 is used to detect the bodyimpedance of a user wearing the device 100, the sensor 110 may includeone or more input electrodes which apply a current to the user and oneor more output electrodes which detect a voltage from the user. In thisexample, one or more input electrodes and output electrodes may beexposed to the outside and may contact the user.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a first electrode module 210, whichincludes a first input electrode 211 and a first output electrode 212,is arranged on an inner surface STb which may be included in any one ofthe straps ST of the mobile health care device 100, and a secondelectrode module 220, which includes a second input electrode 221 and asecond output electrode 222, may be arranged on an outer surface STawhich may be included in any one of the straps ST.

In this example, the first electrode module 210 is exposed through aninner surface of the device and it is configured to contact an outersurface of the user. Also, the second electrode module 220 is exposedthrough an outer surface of the device, and is configured to be touchedby a user.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, directions in which the first inputelectrode 211 and the first output electrode 212 are arranged on theinner surface of the STb and in which the second input electrode 221 andthe second output electrode 222 are arranged on the outer surface of theSTa may be perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of the straps ST,however, the exemplary embodiments are not limited thereto.

The first input electrode 211, the first output electrode 212, thesecond input electrode 221, and the second output electrode 222 arearranged on one of the straps ST. According to an exemplary embodiment,because both of the second input electrode 221 and the second outputelectrode 222, which are used to contact a body part of the user whilethe body impedance is measured, are arranged on one of the straps ST,user convenience may be improved.

Also, in some examples the first input electrode 211 and the firstoutput electrode 212 respectively face the second input electrode 221and the second output electrode 222. However, this example is merely oneexample and it is unnecessary for the first input electrode 211, thefirst output electrode 212, the second input electrode 221, and thesecond output electrode 222 to exactly face each other, respectively.Although it is described that the first electrode module 210 and thesecond electrode module 220 are arranged on one of the straps ST, theexemplary embodiments are not limited thereto. As another example, thefirst electrode module 210 may be arranged on one of the straps ST andthe second electrode module 220 may be arranged on the other of thestraps ST. As another example, at least one of the first electrodemodule 210 and the second electrode module 220 may be arranged on themain body MB. Also, the mobile healthcare device 100 may include onemain body MB and one strap ST.

When a target user whose body impedance is to be measured wears themobile healthcare device 100, the first electrode module 210 may contactthe wrist of the user. Also, the second electrode module 220 may contactother body parts of the user on which the mobile healthcare device 100is not disposed. For example, the second electrode module 220 maycontact fingers, side surfaces of hands, palms, the other wrist, and thelike. The second input electrode 221 and the second output electrode 222may contact different fingers or may simultaneously contact a singlefinger to measure the body impedance. In the example shown in FIG. 3,the user wears the mobile healthcare device 100 on a left wrist andtouches the second electrode module 220 with the right index finger f1.

When the size of the electrodes which detect the bio information isreduced, a contact resistance may occur when a body part of the usertouches the electrodes. The contact resistance may change into noisewhile the body impedance is being measured. Accordingly, the mobilehealthcare device 100 may obtain the state information using the bodyimpedance after the contact resistance is removed.

The noise generated by the contact resistance is usually an exponentialfunction. Accordingly, it may take a time varying with the resistancecomponents of a contact interface to be multiplied by the capacitancecomponents of the contact interface until the detection values arestabilized. When the size of the electrodes is decreased, a contact areais also decreased, and the resistance components are greatly increased.As a result, it may take a long time until the detection values arestabilized. Also, due to movements which occur while the smallelectrodes are in contact with a body part, a noise other than thecontact resistance may be added to data during the first few seconds.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing an impedance change caused by a user contact.Here, an area of an electrode in a comparative example is 1×1 cm², andan area of an electrode in the example is 0.5×0.4 cm². When the userwears the mobile healthcare device 100, the first electrode module 210contacts the skin of the user. The second electrode module 220 may becontacted by another body part of the user at a point t1. As shown inFIG. 4, an impedance according to the comparative example and examplegreatly changes at the point t1 when the second electrode module 220 iscontacted by the body part of the user.

In the comparative example, the impedance is stabilized at a point t2.However, because the sizes of electrodes according to the example aresmall, a contact resistance is generated at a time when the electrodescontact a body part of the user, and an impedance phase lag occurs dueto the generated contact resistance. Therefore, in the example, theimpedance is stabilized at a point t3 after more time has passed. Theimpedance phase lag may differ according to sizes of the electrodes, acontact area with the user, and the like, and may range from about 2 toabout 10 seconds. The impedance phase lag may increase in proportion toa decrease of the area of the electrodes.

In an example in which an electrode module comes in contact with theuser and the contact with the electrodes is terminated at a time that iswithin the impedance phase lag, the mobile healthcare device 100 may notdetect the body impedance of the user. Accordingly, the mobilehealthcare device 100 may provide a dynamic screen to guide the user tomaintain a contact state.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method of operating the mobile healthcaredevice 100 when a dynamic screen is displayed, according to an exemplaryembodiment, and FIG. 6 is a reference view of a dynamic screen,according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 5, thecontroller 160 may set a mode of the mobile healthcare device 100 to ameasurement mode in operation S510. In some examples, the mobilehealthcare device 100 may be set to a plurality of modes. For example,the mobile healthcare device 100 may include a clock mode in which timeinformation is provided, a communication mode in which communicationwith an external device is available, a measurement mode in which thestate information is obtained by detecting the bio information, and thelike. When the user inputs a command for selecting the measurement modeamong the plurality of modes, the controller 160 may set the mode to themeasurement mode. If the mobile health care device 100 can operate inone mode only, the measurement mode may be set by a command for turningon the mobile healthcare device 100.

The controller 160 may determine whether a position of the usercorresponds to a certain or predetermined position in operation S520.For example, the controller 160 may detect a position of the user basedon a result received from the sensor 110 which detects the bioinformation. When the sensor 110 measures an impedance, the impedanceoutput by the sensor 110 may differ according to whether the firstelectrode module 210 and the second electrode module 220 are in contactwith the user.

When both of the first electrode module 210 and the second electrodemodule 220 are in contact with the user, the impedance output by thesensor 110 may dramatically change because noise may be generated due toa size of an area in which the sensor 110 contacts the user. Forexample, the controller 160 receives the impedance from the sensor 110,and if a value of the impedance with respect to a variation ratio of theimpedance is greater than a reference value, the controller 160 maydetermine that the first electrode module 210 and the second electrodemodule 220 are in contact with the user. That is, the controller 160 maydetermine that the user is in a certain position or a body part is in acertain position.

If it is determined that the user is in a certain position (operationS520-YES), the controller 160 may display the dynamic screen on thedisplay 130, in operation S530. In this example, the dynamic screen maybe a screen for guiding the user to maintain the certain position. Thedynamic screen may display an image that is changed entirely accordingto time, but may display an image including objects in which some of theobjects are changed according to time.

For example, the dynamic screen may be a screen on which numbers changeaccording to time. The numbers may change in an ascending order or adescending order according to time. FIG. 6 shows a dynamic screen 610 onwhich numbers change in the ascending order according to time. Asanother example, the dynamic screen may include an advertisement image.As another example, the dynamic screen may be a combination of anadvertisement image and numbers which change according to time.Accordingly, a sense of dullness which may be caused when the user is ina certain position may be decreased by providing the dynamic screen.

The mobile healthcare device 100 may measure the bio information inoperation S540. For example, the processor 120 may obtain the stateinformation using the bio information received from the sensor 110.Although the sensor 110 may continue to detect the bio information inthe measurement mode, the processor 120 may obtain the state informationusing the bio information which is detected after a certain orpredetermined amount of time passes from a point in time at which thedynamic screen begins to be displayed. Also, the processor 120 may usethe bio information which is detected after a display of the dynamicscreen is stopped. As a non-limiting example, when the dynamic screen isdisplayed for ten seconds, the processor 120 may use the bio informationwhich is detected after ten seconds from a time at which the dynamicscreen is stopped being displayed. As another example, the processor 120may use the bio information which is detected while the dynamic screenis being displayed. For example, the processor 120 may use the bioinformation which is detected after five seconds from the time when thedynamic screen begins to be displayed even though the dynamic screencontinues to be displayed.

Because the state information is obtained using the bio informationwhich is detected after a certain amount of time passes from the pointat which the dynamic screen is stopped being displayed, the number ofsignal processing operations performed to remove noise may be reduced.

The sensor which detects the bio information has been described as anexample of a sensor which detects a position of the user. However, theexemplary embodiments are not limited thereto, and other sensors fordetecting a position of a user may be used.

If however, the user position is not in a certain position (operationS520-NO), then operation S520 repeats. For example, the repeating may beperformed a threshold number of times, until the mobile healthcaredevice 100 is turned off, and the like.

The mobile healthcare device 100 may measure the bio information byreferring to the user information. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method ofoperating the mobile healthcare device 100 when a dynamic screen isdisplayed, according to another exemplary embodiment, FIGS. 8A and 8Bare reference views of guidance screens according to exemplaryembodiments, and FIG. 9 is a reference view of a measurement screenaccording to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 7, thecontroller 160 may set the measurement mode according to a user commandin operation S710.

The controller 160 may check the user information in operation S720. Forexample, the user information may be registered in the memory 140, maybe input according to a user command, and the like. As another example,the user information may be uploaded after the mobile healthcare device100 is synchronized with an external device (for example, a mobileterminal).

The controller 160 may display a position screen 810 on the display 130in operation S730. The position screen 810 is a guidance screen forguiding the user to take a certain position. As shown in FIG. 8A, thecontroller 160 may display the position screen 810 as a text, or asshown in FIG. 8B, the controller 160 may display a position screen 820as an image of a posture to be performed.

The controller 160 may display a dynamic screen in operation S740. Forexample, the controller 160 may display the dynamic screen after acertain amount of time passes from a point in time at which the positionscreen is displayed. For example, the dynamic screen may be displayedafter 10 seconds from the time when the position screen is displayed.The controller 160 may also display the dynamic screen for a certaintime. For example, the controller 160 may display the dynamic screen for10 seconds, but the exemplary embodiments are not limited thereto. Asdescribed with reference to FIG. 5, the controller 160 may display thedynamic screen while the user is in a certain position and while theposition screen is being displayed.

Also, the controller 160 may finish displaying the dynamic screen aftera certain amount of time passes and may display a measurement screen inoperation S750. For example, the processor 120 may display a measurementscreen 910 as shown in FIG. 9. When the processor 120 obtains the stateinformation using the bio information, the controller 160 may providethe user with an operation state of the mobile healthcare device 100 bydisplaying the measurement screen on the display 130 with themeasurement screen indicating that the bio information is beingmeasured. The processor 120 may measure the bio information while thedynamic screen is being displayed. In this example, the measurementscreen may not be displayed.

If the measurement succeeds (operation S760-YES), the controller 160 mayoutput the state information in operation S770. The controller 160 maydetermine that the measurement succeeds when the processor 120 obtainsthe state information. Then, the controller 160 may control theprocessor 120 to display the obtained state information on the display130. For example, the state information may be displayed as a graphaccording to time when the state information is being output. Also, thecontroller 160 may determine whether the state information is normal orabnormal by referring to the user information and may output adetermination result.

If the measurement fails (operation S760-NO), the controller 160 mayoutput a failure notice which indicates that the measurement has failedin operation S780. If the processor 120 does not obtain the stateinformation, the controller 160 may determine that the measurement hasfailed. For example, the controller 160 may terminate the measurementmode after the failure notice is output or may display a screen forstarting the measurement again. For example, the controller 160 maydisplay the position screen, the dynamic screen, or the like, and themobile healthcare device 100 may perform an operation for measuring thebio information again.

A plurality of users may use the mobile healthcare device 100.Alternatively, a guest may temporarily use the mobile healthcare device100. A method of managing the obtained state information may varyaccording to types of the user information. For example, the measurementmode of the mobile healthcare device 100 may include a user mode inwhich the user information matches the state information and the userinformation and the state information are automatically stored, and aguest mode in which the user information and the state information areautomatically discarded if there is no command for storing the userinformation and the state information.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a method of managing the user information andthe state information in the user mode, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

Referring to FIG. 10, based on a user command, the controller 160 mayset the measurement mode of the mobile healthcare device 100 to the usermode in operation S1010. In the measurement mode, for example, thecontroller 160 may display a list including a user mode and a guestmode. The user may input a command for selecting the user mode, and thenthe controller 160 may set the measurement mode to the user mode.

In operation S1020, the controller 160 may determine whether the userinformation is registered in the memory.

If it is determined that the user information is registered (operationS1020-YES), the controller 160 may display the registered userinformation in operation S1030. If there are a plurality of users, thecontroller 160 may display a user list (for example, a user 1, a user 2,etc.). If a user command for selecting any one of the users is received,user information with regard to the selected user may be displayed.However, if there is only one user, the controller 160 may display userinformation with regard to the single user without displaying a userlist. For example, the user information may include a height, a weight,an age, a gender, a name, contact information, and the like, of theuser. If the user information includes multiple pieces of information,the multiple pieces of information may be displayed on a single screen,each piece may be sequentially displayed on a single screen, and thelike.

If a user command for updating one of the displayed pieces ofinformation is received (operation S1040-YES), the controller 160 mayupdate the user information in operation S1050. If a user command forupdating a piece of information is not received (operation S1040-NO),operation S1050 is skipped.

Returning again to S1020, if it is determined that no user informationis registered (operation S1020-NO), the controller 160 may receive theuser information in operation S1060. For this purpose, the controller160 may display a list of items for user information on the display 130in order to guide the user to record the user information in each of theitems. Accordingly, the user may input the user information as guided bythe controller 160, and the controller 160 may receive the userinformation. The user information may be checked through the aboveoperations.

The mobile healthcare device 100 may determine the bio information inoperation S1070. An example of an operation of measuring the bioinformation has been described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 7. That is,after the dynamic screen for guiding the user to maintain a certainposition is displayed, the state information may be obtained using thebio information received from the sensor 110. Then, the obtained stateinformation may be output.

The controller 160 matches the state information with the userinformation and may store the state information and the user informationin operation S1080. In some examples, a history of the state informationof the user may be obtained by matching and storing the stateinformation and the user information.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a method of managing the user information andthe state information in a guest mode, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

Referring to FIG. 11, in operation S1110, the controller 160 may set themeasurement mode to the guest mode according to a user command. Forexample, the controller 160 may display a measurement mode list in themeasurement mode. For example, the measurement mode list may include auser mode and a guest mode. The user may input a command for selectingthe guest mode, and the controller 160 may set the measurement mode tothe guest mode.

The controller 160 may receive the user information in operation S1120.For example, the controller 160 may display items of the userinformation on the display 130 and may guide the user to record the userinformation in each item of the user information. The user inputs theuser information as guided by the controller 160, and the controller 160may receive the user information.

The mobile healthcare device 100 may measure the bio information inoperation S1130. An example of a method of measuring the bio informationhas been described above.

The controller 160 may discard the state information and the userinformation in operation S1140. The controller 160 may discard the stateinformation and the user information instead of storing the same if themode of the mobile healthcare device 100 is changed. For example, whenthe measurement mode is terminated, the controller 160 may discard thestate information and the user information. As another example, when auser command for changing the measurement mode to the user mode or formeasuring state information for a new guest is input, the stateinformation and the user information may be discarded. Personalinformation of the user may be protected by discarding the stateinformation and the user information which are measured in the guestmode.

Although the body impedance, which corresponds to the bio informationand requests the user to maintain a certain position, has beendescribed, the exemplary embodiments are not limited thereto. When a PPGis read, the PPG may differ according to a difference between a heightof the heart and that of the sensor 110. The mobile healthcare device100 may provide a dynamic screen so that the sensor 110 may be placed atthe same height with the heart. As another example, the dynamic screenmay be provided to prevent a generation of motion artifacts. The dynamicscreen for preventing the generation of motion artifacts may bedisplayed for a threshold amount of time such as 2 seconds to 5 seconds.

With the developments in medical science and the extension of lifeexpectancy, interest in healthcare and medical devices has increased.Accordingly, various medical devices for use in hospitals and inspectionagencies, and medium-sized medical devices installed in governmentalagencies have been proposed.

In some examples, noise may be easily added to initial data acquiredfrom a body because of a small contact area of a watch-type body fatanalyzer. According to one or more exemplary embodiments, a page countoperation is performed before a body fat measurement such that enoughtime for stabilizing a position of a user can be secured.

It should be understood that the exemplary embodiments described hereinshould be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation. Descriptions of features or aspects within each exemplaryembodiment should also typically be considered as available for othersimilar features or aspects in other exemplary embodiments.

While one or more exemplary embodiments have been described withreference to the figures, it should be understood by those of ordinaryskill in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope as defined by thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating a mobile healthcare device,the method comprising: setting, by a processor, a current mode of themobile healthcare device to a measurement mode; displaying, by adisplay, a position screen for guiding a user to take a predeterminedposition indicating that the user simultaneously contacts firstelectrodes and second electrodes of the mobile healthcare device;measuring, by the first electrodes and the second electrodes, animpedance of the user; determining, by the processor, whether a userposition of the user corresponds to the predetermined position, bycomparing the impedance that is measured, with a predetermined value;replacing, by the display, the position screen that is displayed bydisplaying a dynamic screen for guiding the user to maintain thepredetermined position during the measurement mode, in response to theuser position being determined to correspond to the predeterminedposition, the dynamic screen being at least partially different from theposition screen; determining, by the processor, whether a predeterminedamount of time passes from a point in time at which the dynamic screenbegins to be displayed; obtaining, by the processor, state informationof the user, based on an impedance that is measured while the dynamicscreen is displayed, in response to the predetermined amount of timebeing determined to pass from the point in time at which the dynamicscreen begins to be displayed; and displaying, by the display, the stateinformation that is obtained.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thepredetermined amount of time ranges from about two seconds to about tenseconds.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising stopping thedisplaying of the dynamic screen, in response to the predeterminedamount of time being determined to pass from the point in time at whichthe dynamic screen begins to be displayed, wherein the obtaining of thestate information of the user is performed after the displaying of thedynamic screen is stopped.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein theobtaining of the state information of the user is performed during thedisplaying of the dynamic screen.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thedynamic screen displays numbers that change according to time.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the numbers sequentially and continuouslychange in an ascending order or descending order.
 7. The method of claim1, further comprising storing user information comprising any one or anycombination of a height, a gender, and a weight of the user.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, further comprising: matching the state informationthat is obtained, with the user information; and storing the stateinformation and the user information that are matched, in response tothe measurement mode being a user mode.
 9. The method of claim 7,further comprising discarding the state information that is obtained andthe user information, in response to the measurement mode being a guestmode.
 10. The method of claim 7, further comprising discarding the stateinformation that is obtained and the user information, in response tothe measurement mode being terminated.
 11. The method of claim 1,wherein the state information of the user comprises a bio composition ofthe user.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the bio composition of theuser comprises any one or any combination of body fat, a skeletal musclemass, a muscle mass, a degree of obesity, a muscle strength, an edemavalue, a body composition ratio, and an amount of intra-abdominal fat.13. A mobile healthcare device comprising: first electrodes and secondelectrodes configured to measure an impedance of a user; a display; aprocessor configured to: control the display to display a positionscreen for guiding the user to take a predetermined position indicatingthat the user simultaneously contacts the first electrodes and thesecond electrodes; determine whether a user position of the usercorresponds to the predetermined position, by comparing the impedancethat is measured, with a predetermined value; control the display toreplace the position screen that is displayed by displaying a dynamicscreen for guiding the user to maintain the predetermined position, inresponse to the user position being determined to correspond to thepredetermined position, the dynamic screen being at least partiallydifferent from the position screen; determine whether a predeterminedamount of time passes from a point in time at which the dynamic screenbegins to be displayed; obtain state information of the user, based onan impedance that is measured while the dynamic screen is displayed, inresponse to the predetermined amount of time being determined to passfrom the point in time at which the dynamic screen begins to bedisplayed; and control the display to display the state information thatis obtained.
 14. The mobile healthcare device of claim 13, wherein thedynamic screen displays numbers that change according to time.
 15. Themobile healthcare device of claim 13, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to, in response to the predetermined amount of time beingdetermined to pass from the point in time at which the dynamic screenbegins to be displayed, control the display to replace the dynamicscreen that is displayed by displaying a measurement screen indicatingthat the impedance of the user is being measured, while the stateinformation of the user is being obtained.
 16. The mobile healthcaredevice of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to:determine whether the state information of the user is successfullyobtained; control the display to display the state information that isobtained, in response to the state information being determined to besuccessfully obtained; and control the display to display a failurenotice indicating that the impedance of the user is failing to bemeasured, in response to the state information being determined to beunsuccessfully obtained.